1. Politics of Education Chapter 2

1.1. The Four Purposes of Education

1.1.1. 1) The Intellectual: The idea of teaching students basic cognitive skills such as mathematics, reading, writing, specific knowledge (science, history, etc) and to help them learn how to analyze and work through more difficult problems.

1.1.2. 2) The Political: The idea of teaching allegiance to the current political order and help assimilate groups into a common political belief and to teach societal laws.

1.1.3. 3) The Social: The idea that schools are to be one of the institutes that help fix social issues and teach societal social norms, and how to be social when out in the world.

1.1.4. 4) The Economic: The idea that schools are to teach and prepare students, at least on some level, for later occupations and roles in the working world.

1.2. The Conservative View

1.2.1. The role of schools: To teach students basic skills and help prepare them to go out into the workforce and contribute to society, while also allowing people to choose for themselves what is best.

1.2.2. Explanations of unequal performance: The belief that everyone has the ability to voth thrive and fail, and that it ultimately comes down to the failure of said person to work hard enough.

1.2.3. Definition of education problems: The idea that government policies and intervention in things like education have an overall negative effect if left alone and problems need to be addressed on the individual level.

2. History of U.S. Education Chapter 3

2.1. Influential Reform Movement:

2.1.1. I think the most influential moment in our educational history is the rise of the common school which took place around 1820-1860. This movement was during the time of the industrial revolution and came about because of the increase in population, expansion, and a growing view of the founding father's vision for our country. During this period of growth, more and more people realized that many lacked a chance at a higher education and strove to fix that inequality by pushing for things like more schools and opportunities for the masses. All of this was the beginning of a more public and accessible education for the commoner, and a chance for a better life.

2.2. The Conservative Historic View:

2.2.1. Starting in the 1980's, there was a rise in criticism from conservatives about how schools were mediocre due to the democratic-liberal social and political goals in education causing harm to the academics in schools. It is the conservative view that while trying to solve the social problems, and failing to do so, it left the traditional curriculum and in doing so caused harm to the very foundation of an educational system.

3. Sociological Perspectives Chapter 4

3.1. Theoretical Perspectives

3.1.1. Functional Theories: The idea that society is like a machine where each individual is a part of the whole that makes it work. The same can be said of functional education in that it is based off the idea that it should promote unity and cohesion based off morals and values to be accepted by all if society is to work. Educational reform then is to create curriculum and programs designed to be technical, rational and promoting social unity among all.

3.1.2. Conflict Theories: In contrast to functional theory, conflict theory is the idea that society is held together by a dominant group through the use of powers, such as military, economic, political, etc. This idea was based off the ideas of Karl Marx and tell of classism and inequalities in society due to abuses of powers by the dominant group. It states that often times schools do not educate its students but promote the idea of credentials, such as diplomas, that do not really show achievment, but promote inequality in society.

3.1.3. Interactional Theories: Simply states that functional and conflict theories are too broad and do not give ideas on what should be done on the basic, everyday level of the educational system. It tells of how even speech is more middle-class oriented and that speech patterns effect learning in schools.

3.2. Five Effects of Schooling on the Individual

3.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes: Researchers do not come close to agreeing on the effect schools have on a students attitude, but it is undeniable that is does have some effect. While it is not agreed upon, it is my belief that schools only have as much effect on our attitude as we let it have on us. We see all the time people in horrible situations that choose to stay happy and positive, and while it is difficult, we can do the same in our attitude towards education and its improvement.

3.2.2. Teacher Behavior: A rather simple and important factor in education is the effect a teacher has on the students they come in contact with. A teacher is a model, leader, instructor and much more to hundreds, if not thousands, of students and has a direct tie and influence on student’s attitudes. What is to be done or not done is not quite as simple, and comes down to the local and personal situations each teacher faces and is, in my opinion, the most important factor in a student’s attitude overall.

3.2.3. Education and Mobility: While some do disagree, most Americans think that education is an equalizer and more education generally leads to a more mobile social standing. It is also debated whether or not public schools are as great as is believed due to the fact that private school diplomas tend to carry more weight in society than its public counterpart. The education system was pointed out to be at times unfair do to variables and constant changes in life that could affect people differently.

3.2.4. Inside the Schools: Much could be said about the differences inside of schools, from size, location, ethnic makeup and much more. There have been studies showing differences in such schools and the seeming inequalities that lie within different schools, but much like other criteria, it is difficult to fully understand the effect schools have on each person individually.

3.2.5. Education and inequality: The idea that inequalities lie in our education, much like in our past with things like sex and race being a hindrance, and that these things can directly affect one's ability to obtain an education. There is much to be said about the classes and opportunities afforded to those in a better economic standing than others, and as for what should be done about these problems is widely debated.

4. Philosophy of Education Chapter 5

4.1. Pragmatism

4.1.1. The idea can be described as a generally American, action-oriented approach to education that started around the end of the nineteenth century, whose founders and key contributors are John Dewey, Sanders Peirce, William James, John Locke, Frances Bacon, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The foundations of Dewey's Pragmatism were based off new psychology, behaviorism, philosophy, and was even influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution. Also, Pragmatism is about letting students learn by experimentation, as well as reading books, due to the fact that as living organisms that are constantly changing just shows the need for an ever-evolving education curriculum is needed. The end goal according to Dewey was for the education system to be a place where social and academic standards were taught, questioned, challenged and reconstructed as the need arose. The main goal could be boiled down to simply be the goal of balancing the needs of the individual on one side, and the needs of society as a whole on the other. The purpose of the teacher in achieving a goal such as this is for the teacher to become more of a guide and helper for the students, meaning that a qualified educator should offer help, make suggestions at times, offer up relevant questions, to implement courses of study and plan the curriculum of the class. The curriculum in question is to be based off a core curriculum, based around a certain subject matter being studied by the students and would give problems to be solved using math, science, writing, etc. The Idea behind this curriculum is that while it is based off the core disciplines, it should also work to incorporate the students interests and needs while still keeping to a general guide and direction. The method of teaching such a curriculum was based off Dewey's idea that children learn in groups as well as an individual and would teach that letting go of the old style of lectures and simple mass memorization was for the better. He spoke of replacing the teaching method with one of allowing students to work in groups or individual as was fitting, working on projects reconstruction something they learned in the past, and even of group and individual decided courses of studies at times. The general idea behind all of this was to push for a more individualized and problem-solving oriented way of learning for all students that would benefit all.

5.2. Elements of Change

5.2.1. School Processes: The way in which the school has been run over the years in my local schools has been very easy to see in many ways. There have been overhauls to how parents and teachers can voice their opinions to the Board and Superintendent, the board has started sending out members to review individuel schools and to make changes more quickly when needed. The way in which the curriculum was managed has changed quite a bit as well, were as in the past it was expected to stick closely to one authoritative manner of teaching, teachers now have more freedom to decide what is best on an individual level.

5.2.2. School Culture: The way in which I have seen the school culture change here is quite drastic. When I was young it was very strict and rather harsh at times, but in recent years the culture has changed to a more open discussion, individualized relationship, interactive based form and has seen how student grades and attitudes have improved. The culture has also changed toward a more Hispanic-American mixed culture because of the rise in the number of Hispanic students.

6. Curriculum & Pedagogy Chapter 7

6.1. Developmentalist: The idea behind this curriculum is that schools and teachers would adapt the material to each students needs, and would facilitate their growth instead of simply trying to force memorization of some material. The main role of this curriculum is that of a student centered education system, that works to help students in their endeavors, instead of changing the students to fit that of societies needs. The idea comes from the writings of John Dewey and while it is not been common in public schools, it has had its effect on private and independent schools.

6.2. The Two Dominant Teaching Traditions

6.2.1. Traditional: The Traditional curriculum is based upon the idea that the way in which it looks does not matter, but what does is the way in which how effectively the information is transmitted to the students. The idea behind this viewpoint is great due to the fact that it wants students to understand common knowledge and to be able to go out and do anything that they put their minds to, but it often times leaves them with too much general knowledge that they are not even interested in, which in turn will often be forgotten very quickly.

6.2.2. Social: The Social Curriculum is based upon the idea that the things taught in schools should take things a step further and adapt the material to better fit the needs of the students and times in which they live. The things that this theory pushes for is a more individualized form of teaching and emphasizes a student-centered curriculum. The idea behind this viewpoint is great due to the fact that it wants to help each student grow to do what interests them, which causes them to work harder and be the best citizen that they can. Although, it has drawbacks such as at times being too focused and causes students too not have enough general knowledge of the world and how it works.

7. Equality of Opportunity Chapter 8

7.1. How Race, Gender and Income Affect Education Outcomes: There have been times in our history that being poor, female or a person of color has meant that you could not get a good education without great difficulty or at even at all. While this has played a major role in the past, things have vastly improved and equality of education has been given generally to all. While these thing may still effect some here and there, I do believe that as long as someone has the ability to, they can go to any school and go as far in their educational career as they choose.

7.2. The Two Responses from the Coleman Study

7.2.1. Sociological Response: This response was that of Sociologists examining and reexamining Colemans work, which ended with them basically agreeing with his findings that school organization had little effect on student outcome.

7.2.2. The Minority Scholars Response: This response was headed by Ron Edmonds, who argued that school organization played a huge part in student outcomes.

8. Educational Inequality Chapter 9

8.1. Cultural Differences Theories

8.1.1. Ogbu's theory: This theory argues that African-Americans have adapted over time to the oppression and type-cast, causing them to hit a ceiling in their achievements. The things in which this theory states are at times hard to see, but the results are lower educational outcomes. The later work also states that they are forced to adapt to the dominant culture and have placed upon them the "burden of acting white". Also, things such as lower income and opportunities for low-income households plays a part in the educational inequalities.

8.1.2. Culture Opposition theory: This theory takes the stance that minorities and working-class students all reject the common school culture and in doing so cause themselves harm by adopting a culture of anti-school behavior. This theories point of view is that of the blame is not on the school system but on the decisions and attitudes of the students and their families.

8.2. School-Centered Explanations

8.2.1. School Financing: This explanation in that the inequality of money distribution and amounts given to schools has an effect on schools. It is stated that richer suburb schools had more money per student than poorer inner city schools, which leads to an unequal series of outcomes for the poorer schools.

8.2.2. Between School Differences: This explanation is that schools have different ways in which they teach and support students, which in turn either helps or hinders said students in their academics. A few examples are how upper-middle class students have access to the best curriculum and technology with smaller class sizes and support groups, while poorer schools are left with outdated materials and overcrowded classes and counselor ratios such as 400:1.

8.2.3. Within School Differences: This explanation is that there are practices in use today that are causing significant differences in academic achievement among different groups. It argues things such as tracking students and separating them can be seen as good and bad due to the fact that students will have different expectations for different students. Some see this as not forcing students to an unachievable standard, but others as a way to divide and not help students reach their full potential.

8.2.4. Gender and Schooling: This explanation states that the issues of inequality arise from the fact that for years men and women were not treated equally and could do better or worse depending on what they were. The issues of how in the past the education system was male focused and driven pointed to the issues of leaving women behind, but new studies have also pointed towards the fact that the opposite is starting to become the norm. Schools must find the balance between male and female differences of viewpoints if equal success is to be seen.

9. Educational Reform Chapter 10

9.1. School Based Reform

9.1.1. School-To-Work Programs: Started in the 1990's, it was designed to help students be able to reach their differing goals and to see that there are more options out there for them. It allowed students to obtain relevant educations, skills, and credentials that each individual might would want, instead of having a narrow field available to them.

9.1.2. School Choice: This reform was that of the allowing of families to decide where the students would go to school, and in doing so started to blur the lines of inequality even more. This idea had the ability to award good schools and punish bad ones by higher attendance and money coming in, but also had the ability to cause a waste of funds and to hurt some who could not afford to attend said schools.

9.2. Societal, Community, Economic, And political Reform

9.2.1. School Finance Reform: This was the change that took place starting in the 1970's that sought to fix the problem of inequality of fund distribution among schools. This took place on both the federal level and state levels in various areas of the country and saw a change in how funds were used in the assistance of student growth. There has been focus on the "basic" educational needs of students, and over time has seen a shift towards a more liberal use of school funds across the board.

9.2.2. State Intervention and Mayoral Control in Local School Districts: This reform was that of changes to school accountability to the state and how it effects students. It was said that this reform is extremely controversial in how it was done due to the fact that the control is given over to people who have little knowledge of local school needs and can be political in nature. The argument can also be made that this reform can have good effects, such as the punishing of bad districts and the reward of good ones, the sharing of knowledge and technologies, and the better gathering of student and school data for better research.